Rubio and Huckabee meet with families of American hostages whose bodies lie in Gaza

Secretary of State Marco Rubio And US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with the families of Itai Chen and Omer Neutra, two American citizens whose bodies have been held hostage since they were killed in an October 7, 2023 attack in Gaza.

“We will not forget the lives of the hostages who perished in Hamas captivity. Today I met with the families of American citizens Itay Chen and Omer Neutra. We will not rest until their – and all – remains are returned,” Rubio wrote In a post on X.

He included a photo of himself and Huckabee sitting with the family.

Huckabee also posted about the meeting and said Rubio’s visit to Israel The US-brokered Gaza peace plan was “too fruitful to move forward”. However, he added that “()before the plan can be implemented, all hostages must be released!”

Parents of dead US-Israeli hostages fear losing their son ‘forever’ as Hamas fails to return remains

Parents of dual US-Israeli citizens Itai Chen and Omer Neutra meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. (Chen family)

Itay’s father, Ruby Chen, told Fox News Digital that this was the fifth time he had met Rubio since he became secretary of state.

“It was important for us to get energy from him after several days of not releasing the hostages,” Ruby Chen told Fox News Digital. The secretary promised to share the highlights of our meeting with POTUS as he meets today in Qatar.”

Ruby Chen also met the Vice President The Jedi Ones and another woman, Usha Vance, as well as US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, during their recent visit to Israel.

Ronen Neutra, Omer’s father, also spoke to Fox News Digital about the visit. He said he “understands that Hamas is trying to buy time by delaying the return of the hostages” so that the terrorist group can move freely in areas where Israeli soldiers are not.

“After all the work President Trump and his administration have done, they deserve to get the American people back,” Ronen Neutra said, referring to his son and Itai Chen. “We deserve to have our children back and to have our closure and begin to deal with the grieving process, which we have been putting off for the past two years.”

Ronen Neutra expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for its efforts to end the war and bring home all the hostages — living and dead.

US citizens Itay Chen, left, and Omer Neutra, right, have not yet been returned to Israel by Hamas. (Hostage and Missing Family Forum)

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All the living hostages are outside Gaza, but the remains of the 13 dead hostages have not been returned by Hamas. The Israeli government has reiterated its call for Hamas to return the remains of all hostages.

Parents of Neutra and Chen He was a vocal advocate for the release of hostages, both alive and dead. In July 2024, Neutra’s parents spoke up Republican National ConventionChen’s parents spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024. They have also met with many authorities and people from around the world as they fight to get their children back.

A drone view shows a rally held by hostage families and supporters at “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 18, 2025. (Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters)

Chen, a 19-year-old dual US-Israeli citizen, was initially believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, while serving on the Gaza border, but was later pronounced dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). His body is being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Neutra, 21, a fellow American-Israeli New YorkKilled in battle the same day and his body remains in captivity.

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Amelie Botbol of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.